soterakis



S. 1. SOTEHAKIS.

COIN CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

' AvPucAloN FILED APR. 18. 191s.

Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEETI TTOHNEY S. J. SOTERAKIS.

com CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

AEPLICATION FILED APR. l. 1918.

Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l l l l l I I l l l 1 f.

IN VEN TUR A TTURNE Y SALVTOR Il'. SOTERAKIS, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

coin-con'rnomnn APPARATUS Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

VAmilicatioii ined-April I8, 191B. Serial No. 229,234.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SALvA'roR J. So'rERA- ius, a subject of the King of Greece, and resident of New York, in the county of New `York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin-Controlled Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. l

This invention relates to coin controlled apparatus and more especially to the delivery of goods in dining and eating rooms where compartments are provided to contain plates or trays of foods and having doors opening inward to permit of access to the food and locked, but adapted to be released by a coin deposited adjacent'the door and 'where an indicator is also provided to show if the food has already been sold. and the compartment is empty. The lock to secure the door is set by the weight of food and the plate or trayresting on a lever but the locking bolt is released by another lever influenced by the weight ofthe coin. These 'and other objects 4and details ofthe invention will be more fully described in the following specification, set forth in the appended claimsl and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front view of the compartmentshowing the door, coin slot and ind1- cator. i

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of same.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the interior of the compartment looking toward the door.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the compartment.

1n .automatic food dispensing establishments a number of divisions or compartments are provided to contain food ready to eat and upon depositing the necessary price in an adjacent slot'the door of the compartment may be opened and the food removed. The accompanying ,drawings show one of these compartments'and the mechanism used to lock and release the door and to indicate the presence or absence of the food.

The door 5 is inclosed within a frame 6 about the opening in the wall 7 and at one side of the frame is a plate 8 with slots 9 and 10, the former to permit the entrance of the coin to operate the unlocking mechanism while the slot 10 affords an opening through which a lever 11 plays and its pointer 12 indicates the condition of the compartment by standing at full or empty as the case may be.

The door is hinged along its upper edge where a weight 13 causes a pressure to be exerted on the door to keep it closed, even when the lock is not in use, but when it is desired to lock the door it oters no obstacle to the movement of the bolt 14 carried at the end of the lever 15 that is adapted to swing on the pivot 16 beneath the door opening. The outer end of this lever 15 is forked to receive the end of the lever 16 pivoted to the upright 17 which supports the inclined com chute 18 whose upper end is just within the slot 9 so that a coin inserted in this slot will be received by the chute and run down the same and into a box 19 at the end of the lever 16.

This lever 16 and the box 19 are so nicely balanced that the coin immediately depresses the box and throws up the outer'end 4of the lever, tilting the lever 15 so that the bolt 14 asses below the lower edgeof the door, al owing it to be opened, and at the same time a nose 20 on the bolt passes into engagement with a hook 21 hung below the door and the bolt is retained in anl inoperative position and not permitted to lock the door.

A short lever 22 is pivoted beneath 'the door and one end bears against a stem 23 of the hook` so that when the adjacent end of the lever descends t e hook is swung clear of the nose 20 and the bolt allowed to return to its operative position. The lever 22 is operated by a lever 24 pivoted at about the center of the compartment ina bearing 25Y and the lever has at its outer end a knob 26.

The operation of lever 24 is best shown in Fig. 2 where it will be seen that when the tray or plate 27 carrying a dish 28 is placed in the compartment the greater part of its weight will tend to depress the knob 26 and throw up the other end of the lever 24, tilting the lever 22 and the hook 21 and releasthe bolt 14 by reason of the weight of the er end of the lever 15.

The latter lever also has connected with it the link 29 which rocks a lever 30 carryin a door 31 at its outer end and which closes ille coin slot 9 after the operating coin has been inserted and is in the box 19 and while the door 5 is not locked. In order to insure the in ot .tilting of the lever 16 [by the coin and to then release the latter, the rear ond of thc claims.

box 19 is open and a 'stop 32 is secured to the wall of thc compartment and extends across thc open end so as to prevent the release of the coin while the box 'is in its upright position, but as soon as the box drops dowmvard in consequence of the weight of the .coin and passes the stop, the coin rolls out into a suitable receptacle or drops on the floor of the compartment.

In its downward movement the box 19 strikes the inner end of the lever ll and shifts the pointer 12 to the empty sign but this lever must be reset to full by the waiter or attendant when he deposits more food in the compartment. The entire operation, otherwise, is automatic and the coin places the contents of the compartment at the disposal of any one depositing the same. Tension springs 3% may be inserted beneath the levers 2i and 22 to facilitate their opel'- ation by pulling them downward.

It is obvious that the parts may be otherwise arranged or modied without departing from the essential features above described or from the scope of the appended 7h-at I claim as new is: l. In a coin controlled apparatus, the combination of the door of a compartment,

a coin chute, a lever with a` box at one end to receive the coin, a bolt locking the door and operated by the lever, means for ,holding the bolt out of engagement, and means for resetting the bolt.

2. In a coin cont-rolled apparatus, the combination of the door of a compartment having an adjacent coin slot, a coin chute,

a lever supported by the coin chute, an open ended box at one end of the lever t0 receive the coin, a lever having a locking bolt at one end and at its other end connected with the first lever, a. catchto hold the bolt in an inoperative position, andv a lever in the compartment` and operated by the article to be vended for releasing the catch.

3In a coin controlled apparatus, the

combination with the door of a compartment having an adjacent coin slot, of a coin chute at the slot and in the compartment, a lever pivoted adjacent the chute, a box at one end of the lever and adapted -to receive the coin from the `chute, a stop to confine the coin in the box, a second lever with a bolt at one end and connected with the first lever at the other end, means for closing the slot and operated Iby the second lever, a catch to hold the second lever out of operation, and a lever to disconnect the catch.

4. In a coin controlled apparatus, the combination of the door of a. compartment, a weight to close the door, a chute adapted to receive a coin, a box at the end of the chute to receive the coin, a lever carrying the box, a second lever pivoted beneath the door and having a bolt at one end and connected at the other end to .the first lever, a catch to engage and hOld the bolt when depressed, and a third lever adapted to be operated by a plate or tray to disengage the catch.

5. In a coin controlled apparatus, the combination with a door of a Compartment closed by a weight and having an adjacent coin slot, of a coin chute within the compartment, a lever beneath the chute, a box `at one end of the lever and located at the lower end oi the chute, a second lever with a bolt at one end to lock the door and connected at its other end to thc first lever, a pivoted gate to close the coin slot and operated by the second lever, a catch to engage the bolt and render it inoperative, a triplever for the catch, a third lever on 4the {ioor within the compartment and adapted to bc operated 4by a plate or tray to swing the triplever and disengage the catch, and a lever with a pointer at its end and operated by the first lever.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 9th day of April, A. hD. 1.918.

SALVATOR J. SOTERAKIS. 

